Northwestern News Volume one, July 2024
July is upon us and the second half of 2024 has begun. Many hamfests are now in the books for the year along with Field Day. I hope your group had a good experience this year.
As most are aware, ARRL had a serious disruption to its IT network and as of this writing, several systems are still being worked on. Contrary to “popular belief” the league does not operate on a single instance of Microsoft server 2016. (yes, that was sarcasm) LoTW for example operates on its own server however does have to connect to the member database, so it knows you are a member, and it also must talk to the DXCC system, to make sure all your contacts are credited to your account. All of which are on different servers that are being worked on. We also have the database for clubs and field services which talk back and forth with the member database.
As of this writing, LoTW has been switched back on and is working normally. It did take a few days to catch up on all the uploads but is running at a normal processing time.
The board has been meeting weekly during all this, receiving updates from CEO Minster, CFO Middleton, and others as required.
If you run into any issues with various systems, feel free to email me about it, or call member services and they can help. They can be reached at 860-594-0200.
Members in this Division have been very understanding for the most part during this and that is appreciated.
The ARRL Foundation has finalized the scholarships awards for this season and the recipients should be notified process should be underway anytime. We had a great group of applicants this year.
The ARRL Foundation Club Grant program application deadline is coming up soon. This is a opportunity for clubs to apply for up to 25K in funding for projects. The window for these grants closes on July 26th at 4PM eastern time.
Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions:
July 20th Chehalis, WA Valley ARS Tailgate Swap https://cvars.org/Swapmeet_2024.pdf
July 20th Coos County Radio Club hamfest / swap http://www.coosradioclub.net
August 3rd KARS, ARRL Idaho State Convention http://k7id.org
August 9 -11th Pacific Northwest DX Convention https://pacificnwdxconvention.com
Check the N7CFO Pacific Northwest Hamfairs & Events webpage often for the most up to date information. http://www.n7cfo.com/amradio/hf/hf.htm or https://arrlnwdiv.org/ and click “PNW Events”
73..
Mark J. Tharp – KB7HDX
Director, NW Division
+++++++++
From the shack of Vice Director Sterba
Hello Northwestern Division,
Welcome to the month of July! I’m settling in and unpacking from another
fun ARRL Field Day event with friends. I’m hoping this writing is
greeting each of you with similar happy experiences and memories.
Reflecting across the decades, this annual celebration of technique has
demonstrated our capacity and capability to operate under the demand of
highly variable scenarios. It also fosters good will, enhanced civic
interaction, and public relations. It is this sense of community where
people are inspired to get involve. We publicly demonstrate the art of
amateur radio while enjoying the open learning opportunity to fine tune
our understandings surrounding the art of two-way communication.
I was recently reminded of the importance of our annual ARRL sponsored
event. During a recent swapmeet, a woman approached the ARRL table I was
manning. She was gathering a current band plan and a couple items about
ARES as she was getting ready to take her exam. As we chatted about her
interests in math, science, and being a school teacher, she reached into
her bag and pulled her grandfather’s QST from January 1952 which was the
cost of 40 cents. The Northwestern Division Director back then was R.
Rex Roberts (W7CPY) and Vice Director was Karl W. Weingarten (W7BG). I
apologize in that I digressed. She flipped to the center of the journal
where an old yellowed QSL card sat and pulled it out and asked if I knew
this person. The callsign on the card was N7KWU…
Now before you run off and look that up in the FCC database, it was my
card from the late 1980’s in which I wrote “Eyeball QSL – Thank you for
helping operate the WA7LAW FD Station, Legion Park, Everett, WA –
6/24/1989”. I remember giving this to a curious and very young
bright-eyed girl who was there with her visiting grandfather.
Folks, I’m not a professional writer and honestly have a tough time
articulating experiences that demonstrate how important amateur radio
still is and how much relevancy it can have going into the future.
Inspiring young people into two-way communications starts with kindness,
openness, and yes, sometimes a little pixie dust. We set the tone by how
we openly share, demonstrating the positives publicly while working
forward behind the scenes to open new and exciting opportunities.
Positivity is contagious!
After a wonderful time at SEAPAC, I enjoyed attending the Apple City ARC
Hamfest in Dryden, Washington. This annual camping/tailgate event
continues to offer a relaxed family friendly setting with hidden
transmitter hunts, lectures, VE Testing and of course all those
treasures while all under the open skies of Eastern Washington. The
dialogs and exchanges of ideas were rich and timely as I start
preparations for the upcoming ARRL Board Meeting later this month.
Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):
Northwestern Division Membership:
- Reporting paused for system restoration
National Membership:
- Reporting paused for system restoration
License Counts:
- 72,210 (Division total)
- 747,987 (National total)
Director Tharp and I are always open to input, good and bad, (we prefer
good) from members. If you have anything you would like to talk about,
shoot us an email or call on the phone. In addition, we are always
looking for information to share with the Division. If you have a news
item you would like to offer, please send us a note and we would be glad
to include it here. It is always great to
hear from members.
Enjoy Amateur Radio… Be Safe, Be Positive, as your voice carries
73,
Michael A. Sterba, KG7HQ
ARRL Vice Director
Northwestern Division
kg7hq@arrl.org